A few weeks ago, I started a cohort with Velvet Ashes called Reclaiming Joy. It has been a sweet, but also challenging (in a good way) experience. Every Tuesday morning at 9 am, I meet virtually with other women in ministry around the world along with our leaders who are former missionary women that guide us in conversations about the biblical neuroscience of joy. Our negative experiences stick a lot longer than our positive ones. They used the analogy that negative experiences are like velcro to the brain, while positive ones are like a teflon, non-stick pan.
We spent week one recognizing moments of joy, which was pretty easy to see when my brain was focused on it, but quickly passed afterwards. We spent week 2 holding joy, savoring those moments as they happened, which was a lot more difficult for me as I had a very busy week and it was hard to pause and sit in those moments. Last week’s challenge was to make a “joy memorial” – something that I can look back on and remember the Lord’s goodness so I can rest in it.
I wrote what I think might be a poem, but I’m not really sure if it counts. Haha
I am dwelling among answered prayers upon answered prayers,
Yet everyday stresses weigh on my heart as though a pile of stones were stacked upon my chest.
Those stones make joy hard to muster up and even more-so to sustain.
Joy seems like a train passing through town. I smile like a child for a moment, then go about the rest of my day forgetting I ever even saw it.
I know the Lord doesn’t desire fleeting joy for me and I don’t desire it for myself.
Could my idea of joy be mistaken?
It doesn’t seem to hold fast, but rather sway with my ever-changing feelings.
He says to delight in Him in all things, even knowing how difficult that task would be for my broken mind.
Yet, these things I will call to mind over and over again:
- Answered prayer for community – friends who helped me prep. clean and move to my new home, lunches, dinners, and fresh made juice with them, big hugs from people I have gotten to know at church (and lots from people I don’t really know), sweet words on my birthday, stopping to say hi to someone on the street and driving away from the interaction with fresh mangoes and guava!
- Answered prayer for a new season of ministry, to focus on supporting our schools more
- Answered prayer for a house to rent – and the Lord provided me with one way faster and way more than I asked!
- My new neighbor Masiel coming to introduce herself and saying hi as we leave for work in the mornings
- Feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin
- Seeing beautiful wildflowers growing anywhere and everywhere
So therefore, I will DARE to have hope and joy.
I can remember these things and more and delight in His steadfast love for me.
I can clearly see that His mercies for me never come to an end.
They are new and present each and every day.
Great is His wonderful and abundant faithfulness!
The Lord is my treasure, and therefore I will delight in all of who He is.
I will challenge myself to look for all of the ordinary and extraordinary ways He wonderfully delights in me.
Going into this week, our challenge is to remember joy and intentionally express gratitude to the Lord and to others for it. My prayer is that I can grow in delighting in the Lord and seeing how He delights in me each and every day.
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What’s been happening this month:
- I spent a week and a half in North Carolina for my 17th year of Camp Linn Haven’s Teen Servant Week 2. This has to have been one of the best (if not the best) Teen Servant Week I have had! It was incredible to see the personal and spiritual growth of the campers I’ve had the privilege to see over the last several years. I was so encouraged by their hearts that were so on fire for the Lord. I also had the privilege of leading a small group bible study each night with the high school seniors and college students. There were so many sweet and deep conversations that came out of that and it had to be one of my favorite parts! Angel came with me to NC and Brayden also joined us for camp. Lizzie was working in the kitchen and it was just so sweet to all be back together and to get to share our church camp antics with Brayden and Angel. I stole and ate way more camp chocolate chip cookies that I’d like to admit, but after our camp dance on Friday a few of us stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to make more for the following week. Also, that was my first time ever having a smore on a chocolate chip cookie and I’ll never be able to go back to a normal smore again!
- While I was at home, my mom hosted a dinner with all of my friends who have been so special to me, but even more-so since I’ve been gone. We had some really good barbecue, cream cheese jalapeño grits, and cowboy beans. My mom also had another dinner for me with my family which was really sweet! I also got to see my grandma who has Alzheimers and she was having a really good day when I got to see her which really did a lot of good for my heart.
- I celebrated my 30th birthday! I received lots of sweet cards and messages, a new plant from the team and the girls and I went to dinner!
- Amidst hosting teams, I was able to attend a conference in the capital for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) with personnel from Lucille Rupp. I’m so glad that I was able to go and got to learn about resources that are already here in the DR that could benefit the schools that we partner with. Which leads me to telling you all that I am stepping into a new season of ministry that really excites me! I have stepped away from being the guesthouse host (which is very bittersweet), and will be in a new role (which we don’t have a title for yet). However, one of my main responsibilities will be supporting our schools more intentionally apart from the sponsor student program as well as deepening our impact with VBS. As a former teacher, I am so excited for this and I can’t wait to see how the Lord works in and through this new role.
- My friend Ayelen and I visited the National Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo! I’m going to have to go back though because we didn’t even make it through half of it, but we had some great coffee!
- My friend, Shane, from one of the teams and I went to the colonial zone for dinner one night and it was amazing! A little pricey, but I will definitely be going back when I have the chance!
- As you read above, I moved out of the guesthouse! I’m renting a house and was not expecting to leave the guesthouse so soon. I had asked the Lord for a 2 bed, 1-2 bath house for rent in a good neighborhood, with a little yard for Peanut. I asked Him to provide it before the end of the year, but He provided it within a matter of weeks and even more than what I had asked! It’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a big yard for Dominican standards! Peanut is still getting acclimated to the new sights, sounds, smells, and routines, but I’m really excited to make our little home there.
- Lastly, since we currently don’t have any teams, we have been working on projects around the guesthouse that we can’t do while we have teams on the ground. We have had the cistern cleaned, dining room doors replaced, gotten our new office set up, fumigated and deep cleaned inside the guesthouse, and now I’m beginning to prep for our sponsor program updates which will start (hopefully) at the end of September!
Prayer requests:
- Grow in delighting daily in the Lord and in recognizing how He delights in me
- Peanut getting acclimated to the new house
- For a new season of ministry and a new role – that the Lord would give me wisdom, grace with myself, patience, and guidance on how He wants me to use this new role
- Prayers for my sister as she gets married in September and safe travels for when I go to NC for the wedding!
- Cultivate peace and slowness among the never-ending needs of ministry
